Group items tagged

Very smart writing on the distinctions between a hierarchy of thinking vs. scaffolded learning. "the notion that students have to be immersed in 'lower-level' factual and procedural knowledge BEFORE they can do 'higher-level' thinking work doesn't comport with what we know from cognitive research."

From the site: "We must first focus on creating the engagement and then look at structures, like the flipped classroom, that can support. So educators, here are some things to think about and consider if you are thinking about or already using the flipped classroom model."

"There is a prevailing conception that students must learn facts and procedural knowledge BEFORE they can then engage in so-called 'higher-order' thinking skills. Educators, parents, policymakers, online commentators, and others point to Bloom's taxonomy (which typically has been portrayed as a pyramid) and say, "See? You have to do this stuff down here before you can do that stuff up top!" But that's not how Bloom and his co-authors categorized the taxonomy..."

"Just as effective teaching demands that teachers establish routines to guide the basic physical and social interactions of the classroom, so too thinking routines need to be established to help guide students' learning and intellectual interactions..."

A great explanation of the power of blended learning, whether or not you think Khan's Academy is the pinnacle of the practice. "Educational technology pioneer Salman Khan maps how online learning tools can help physical classrooms evolve to become hubs for creativity and hands-on experiences, and how Khan Academy and the Discovery Lab summer camp fit into that big picture."

A list of videos from the likes of Sal Khan, Linda Darling-Hammond, Judy Willis, and other notables. Great minds, not necessarily thinking alike.

"Today, though, as we move into Personalised Learning in the Age of Technology, it is time for us to break the shackles of traditional thinking regarding writing and technology. We can no longer afford to dwell on the negative impacts of spellcheck and copy/paste. Instead, let's focus on the benefits."

Interesting possibility for digital maps. Free and crowdsourced. People seem to think learning how to create a layer is fairly easy, too.

We purchased the client software version of arcGIS made for K-12 use and had it on all RCS PC's for about 4 years. We were not able to get any integrations with it launched. Dropped support for it two years ago due to lack of use. Maybe interest in GIS has changed since Google Earth has come on the scene? Anyone interested in looking at GIS applications for RCS?

"Primary teachers leave technology to the secondary teachers; Secondary teachers leave technology to the Higher Ed Teachers; and Higher Ed teachers assume that students are "digital natives". Tech skills of Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, Research, Social Learning, and Media Literacy in general are not being taught by some educators, but rather being assumed to be mastered by our digital natives."

The Figural TTCT: Thinking Creatively with Pictures is appropriate at all levels, kindergarten through adult. It uses three picture-based exercises to assess five mental characteristics: · fluency · resistance to premature closure · elaboration · abstractness of titles · originality

Recently, Christine Wiser T&L's Managing Editor, asked the Tech Advisors the following question: What do you think are the top three most important issues facing K-12 edtech this year? 1. Mobile device adoption. Especially bring your own device program implementation. 2. Getting people to really understand what is meant by 21st century teaching and learning. 3. Anytime, anywhere learning.

"GFW High school  in Minnesota is really leading the race at this point.  I  read the blog Ed Galaxy by Kevin Cummins regularly.  Kevin frequently shares great stuff.  Today is a wonderful article, The Ultimate Guide to Using iPads in the Classroom. In that article, he links to the GFW iPad Policy, Procedures and information.  It is chalked full of good information for any school thinking about 1:1 with iPads.  So, I did a little diggin and found their school website, including the iPad initiative pages that has even more useful information.  They are in their 2nd year of this, so, clearly they have a lot of the bugs worked out.  No need to re-invent the wheel, take their lead and learn from them!!  What more can I say, but WOW!!"

"In spring 2007 I invited the 200 students enrolled in the "small" version of my "Introduction to Cultural Anthropology" class to tell the world what they think of their education by helping me write a script for a video to be posted on YouTube. The result was the disheartening portrayal of disengagement you see below."

graphic for thinking about flipping

At a time when U.S. political and business leaders are raising concerns about the need to better nurture creativity and innovative thinking among young people, several states are exploring the development of an index that would gauge the extent to which schools provide opportunities to foster those qualities.

The Stone is a forum for contemporary philosophers on issues both timely and timeless.Tags:The Stone is featuring occasional posts by Gary Gutting, a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, that apply critical thinking to information and events that have appeared in the news.

Edutopia is dedicated to transforming the learning process by helping educators implement the strategies below. These strategies -- and the educators who implement them -- are empowering students to think critically, access and analyze information, creatively problem solve, work collaboratively, and communicate with clarity and impact. Discover the resources, research, experts, and fellow Edutopia members who are changing our schools. Join us in reinventing the learning process!

videos, real life classroom experiences, lessons

"What is an essential question? An essential question is - well, essential: important, vital, at the heart of the matter - the essence of the issue."

Great comparison of Bloom's original taxonomy to Anderson/Krathwohl's 2000 revision.